Britain face final-day drama in chase for Olympic ticket after late fightback falls short
It was nearly the moment the impossible became possible. The moment Great Britain’s women not only rallied from 17 points down with seven minutes remaining to beat South Korea in the dying seconds but also the moment they beat the funding cuts, the constant set-backs, the odds to book their place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
But the victory and fairy-tale ending – yesterday at least – were not forthcoming and they lost 82-79. Instead today they must defeat Spain, the
European champions, even to keep their hopes alive. By the time they take to the court, in the second of the day’s games, they will know the size of the task. For, if the South Koreans lose to the Chinese – the highest ranked team at the qualifying event in Belgrade – in the first game, any British victory would require the Olympic qualification chiefs to reach for the calculators to ascertain the required points difference for the last two qualification spots.
That seems the most likely scenario, especially after China stunned Spain 64-62, the Rio 2016 silver medallists, yesterday to punch their ticket to Tokyo. But with the pressure off and a place secured, what impact will that have on the Chinese players’ mindset?
Will they ease off with the job already done, and open the door for Korea to win? Great Britain’s players will be hoping for as much, especially as that will then turn their clash with Spain, a team they ran close at last year’s EuroBasket before eventually losing 67-59, into a winner-takes-all blockbuster.
But one thing is for certain. They need to heed the rallying cry of teammate Chantelle Handy and rid themselves of any lingering disappointment.
“We’ve got to be fearless at this point,” she said. “The girls did a great job in the fourth quarter to come back. Maybe we started to chip away too late. But Korea had a great game, a great shooting game. You are nervous coming into these games, but it’s good to have nerves. And we still have one more chance, we have to get over this game and move on to the next.”
In many ways, it is a good job the games come thick and fast at these Olympic qualifiers. History was there to be made for Great Britain, whose entire programme faced extinction two years ago due to lack of funds, the money cut completely in the wake of
London 2012 before emergency contributions from Sport England just about kept them afloat. None of the players are paid to play for Britain, while wearing the same kits for multiple years is common and arguing for more physios and preparation time is a battle.
But here they were, entering the match knowing that, due to China’s tight victory beforehand, a win would make them the first British side, male or female, to qualify for an Olympic Games outright (their 2012 appearance came by virtue of a host spot).
Britain started slowly with their opponents, perhaps spurred on themselves knowing defeat would mean elimination, taking a 25-19 first-quarter lead. It was a familiar story in the second and third as Britain’s defence crumbled and rebounds repeatedly fell the way of Korea. Entering the fourth quarter 70-54 down, the game was surely up. But Britain refused to accept they were beaten and, driven on by the once-again impressive Temi Fagbenle, they drained 15 unanswered points to remarkably reduce the gap to 80-79.
Britain, trailing since the second minute, sensed an unlikely victory. But a Korean turnover forced Fagbenle to foul and two South Korea free throws left Rachael Vanderwal needing to succeed with her three pointer with seven seconds left to take the game to overtime. The ball hit the rim and the buzzer sounded shortly afterwards.
Everything now rests on Spain.